Increasing Staff Engagement – When Money Isn’t The Answer

As the economy and organisations emerge from survival to growth what about staff morale and engagement?  Just as leaders can get caught in post recession paralysis, so can employees.  After all the uncertainty and insecurity and with companies maybe asking that bit extra of staff to make it through the recession, what’s next in moving forward?

Well the most superficial response will be bonus’s and pay rises.  Yes of course rewarding your staff is key.  But as Frederick Herzberg said donkey’s years ago, pay is a hygiene factor and not a motivator.  Without it you’ve got serious problems, but there is a point beyond which it doesn’t motivate or engage staff.

In fact Lord Richard Layard wrote a book Happiness – Lessons from a new science.  Research shows that there is a fiscal point above which earning anymore doesn’t make you happier.  If memory serves me right it’s £25K.

So what does increase employee engagement?  Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Promotion / Career Progression, Learning and Development, Relationships / Team work, Flexible Working.  These softer, more intrinsic aspects are what  we should ensure are present.  Typically when they aren’t that’s when people start demanding more money.  It’s a sign that they don’t feel valued but are at a loss to put in place the intrinsic factors, so the tangible cash solution is a sticking plaster that patches things up for a while.

As the profits increase staff will, quite rightly, expect a share of that somehow.  Yet in this emergent state your company may not be in a position to offer cash bonus’s.  However if you use the extra cash you have to invest in ensuring the more intangible, intrinsic motivators are present then the payoff’s could be far higher than a pure cash solution.

Leadership Development 2010 – You, Your Values & The Company’s Culture

The culture of your organisation is fundamental to business growth, especially if you’re wondering how to get the best from your people and increase your organisations’ performance.

As leader’s we need to be aware both of our presence and the wake we leave behind, these are powerful forces that impact our ability to encourage our staff to live the company’s values.

We might ask our employees for Creativity, Commitment or Integrity, but they have to choose to give them.  They’re not skills but intrinsic traits which we can only encourage to be expressed.

Join us on this 1 day workshop to discover your personal fit with your organisation’s current and desired culture and learn about the common barriers to business growth and cultural transformation.

What will I learn?

You will complete your own Individual Values Assessment before the day and we’ll take you through what the results mean.   Looking at what it means to you, your leadership, the current and desired culture of the organisation.  You’ll have a cleared idea of what’s important to you and what’s required of your leadership in 2010.

You’ll also learn the common barriers to business growth, the cost and symptoms of these and the 4 steps you can take to avoid them.

Plus we’ll share with you some aspects of best practice in the role values play in business performance and releasing human potential.  There will also be the opportunity to learn from your peers as you share your experiences and insights.  The event has been designed to be interactive, informative and experiential.

Who is this designed for?

This day is aimed at CEO’s, MD’s, FD’s and HRD’s who want to improve the performance of their organisation and create a profitable and healthy culture.

Date, Location, Investment

4^th February 2010

Manchester, venue to be confirmed

8:30 Registration and coffee

9:00 – 16:00 Event

Your investment for this event including all materials, lunch and refreshments is £247+ VAT.  Places must be booked before 31^st December to allow sufficient time for you to complete your Individual Values Assessment and for the results to be processed.

To book or find out more contact us now.

Routes to Business Growth – Emerging From A Recession

The creation of a values-led corporate culture within one of Britain’s most successful healthcare companies had engaged its workforce, driven growth and resulted in turnover rocketing from £60 million to £100 million in a handful of years, according to Chris Harrison of North West pharma company Fresenius Kabi.

Addressing business leaders from across the North West at this week’s ‘Emerging from the Recession’ conference at Manchester’s MacDonald Hotel, the Runcorn based Group Managing Director said the adoption of values-led leadership could assist organisations in weathering the economic storm.

“At Fresenius Kabi, values have provided an important underpinning of what we do as a business and they have enabled everybody within that business to be engaged,” he added.” I am convinced that our progress would not have been as sustainable without values.”

Ruth Sanderson,one of the conference organisers and MD of blue pea POD, the Chester based leadership consultancy told the delegates that all the speakers would outline their experiences of corporate culture and its impact on performance.

“The uncertain times have seen many companies lose their way,” she said:” But forward-thinking CEOs are working with their corporate culture and leadership values because they know these hold the key to business growth.

“The level of interest in this conference in Manchester is, in my view, a clear indication of the growing acknowledgement of the role of values in corporate life. We have senior players in attendance today who have all experienced the positive impact of company values. We want them to share their experiences with all our delegates.”

Her co-organiser Sue Coyne, Executive Coach and Culture Change Consultant of Stockport-based Connectiveness Ltd added that research had shown that the adoption of a values based corporate culture within an organisation had a measurable effect on performance from sales figures to the bottom line.

Mike Stevens, the Manchester based Group and UK Human Resources Director for the £300 million turnover Odeon and UCI Cinema Group told the conference that he became involved in building a values based corporate company when the Odeon and UCI operations were being integrated.

“We conducted a company wide survey of our employees and as a company we were shaken to the core when the results showed a worrying level of disengagement and negativity.”

“We made a conscious decision to apply values to the culture using engagement, communication and development. We have already seen some very positive results from our work and now values are integral in every aspect of our business.”

After the conference Ruth Sanderson said: “Many companies are now looking forward to emerging from this long and difficult recession and this conference was the start of a series of events to give our delegates the benefit of the experiences of our speakers, all of whom spoke very positively about values-led leadership and corporate culture.

“We believe in the effectiveness of values-led leadership and the end of the recession will give many companies the opportunity to examine the many positives from this approach to business. Putting in those values now will pay huge dividends as time goes on.”

Leadership Challenges – How Values Impact The Bottom Line

Event for NW Business Leaders

Leadership Challenges As We Emerge From The Recession – How your values impact the bottom line

If you’re a CEO, MD, HRD or FD based in the North West of England and you’re seeking any of the following in your organisation :-

-          A breakthrough in the performance of your organisation

-          Want to understand the magnitude of corporate culture

-          Look to tap in to the energy and commitment from your people

-          Wonder if there is another way of leading – for yourself and the business

Then you might want to attend this event being held in the center of Manchester on the 17th November.

Never before has it been so important for the Board of Directors to identify, manage and embed the desired culture and values in their working environments and never before has there been so much emphasis in place to encourage organisations to do so.

This year Maurice Summerson has been leading a team, with Phil Clothier CEO of the global Barrett Values Centre, working with NW regional business, NWDA, IoD, NWEO and other regional stakeholders. Key intentions of the programme are to create a values based, whole systems change framework to support the NW economy and wellbeing of citizens through both public and private sectors. This project team has brought significant regional, national and global capability, experience and advocacy, already resulting in the embedding of relevant values in the emerging Regional Strategy 2010 from NWDA.

You are invited to join us on this complimentary half day event to learn about:-

-          The new principles of business that are generating sustainability, resilience and shareholder value.

-          What some of your key values are and how they impact your leadership.

-          The results of the North West Values Survey.  Conducted this year it reveals the challenges and potential opportunities for both Companies and the region as a society to grow stronger.

-          Plus you’ll hear from two Directors in the North West who have seen their business grow in size and profitability through the conscious application of values and an understanding of their culture.

Here is full information – Values 17th Nov 2009 – and we hope you can join us.  To secure your place call 0845 123 1280 or email angela@bluepeapod.com.  If you can’t make the event but would like to receive our white paper also call us.

Due to space limitations please RSVP by the 30^th October.

Developing Your Organisation’s Culture – 7 Tips

Consciously developing your organizational culture is more important than ever.  At the end of the day if you aren’t developing it, then it’s developing you.

People are seeking to work for a business where they can experience fulfilment and authenticity.  Organizations which treat their employees well have experienced a better retention rate, increased productivity, increased innovation and lower sickness and absenteeism.

That said developing your organizational culture can be a big challenge for the leaders as well as its employees.   Here are few suggestions of things you can do:-

• Analyze your corporation’s existing culture and compare it with employees, suppliers and customers’ expectations and perceptions.  There are even tools that can measure this very accurately now and give valuable business insight that helps with performance and growth.

• Discuss the existing culture in your department.  What aspects of the culture are great, what’s good and what needs to change?  Then agree what you’d like the culture to be and how everyone can support and make it happen.

• Induction.  This isn’t just about training new recruits in their job, it’s about making them aware of the culture you’re growing and how they can play their part.  Even though you’ve made the culture clear in the interview process, so you’ve not recruited a misfit, it’s not enough to think that’ll do.  There are of course still companies that spend all their focus on skills and fail to explain the culture and check for alignment – which of course is expensive as they can find themselves losing the new recruit within the next 6 months and having to start all over again.

• Communication.  And I’m not talking a quick 2 line email saying our culture / values are this,  it’s important and can you just send a quick reminder to all your staff.  Yes those emails are still too common, ouch.  I’m talking about a 2 way conversation where you bring awareness that this isn’t a band-aid or quick fix approach.  Rather an ongoing, strategic process to build a more attractive culture that fits the needs of the organization and that can improve its business growth.

• Have Champions.  This is a journey so it’s important to have people who whole heartedly support the creation of this desired culture.  Plus it’s important that the champions / key culture group realise that not everyone is going to jump onboard right away.  There’s going to be scepticism, even from those who would like the desired culture.

• Momentum and Measurement.  Developing the culture to being a sustainable, profitable and healthy one for both the business and staff takes time.  Look for low hanging fruit, celebrate what works, don’t re-enforce what doesn’t.  Lastly measure.  Not incessantly but say every 12 months assess your progress against the desired end point.

If you want to do more, if you’d like to measure your culture, if you’d like to discuss how you can not only manage your culture but generate wealth from it, then give us a call.

Company Purpose and Passionate Employees – the imact on staff and bottom line

A company with a well-defined purpose and passionate employees who share it, can unleash a massive boost of employee enthusiasm that can only be born when purpose and passion align. Unfortunately, this is a ‘free’ resource that most companies are not tapping into nearly enough.

Stephen is among a growing number of talented individuals who have struggled with finding a role in their organizations in which their purpose and passions could flourish.   Moving up the career ladder he eventually felt so disconnected with his profession he wondered what it was that even attracted him to it in the first place.  At this current phase in his career he was spending more and more time with politics and less on building meaningful relationships, making a difference and achieving any kind of success or results.  “I began to wonder why I turned up, each day I felt a little more of my energy and enthusiasm disappear.  I was also getting more frustrated at the lack of authenticity within the company, what it said it stood for and what it asked for / rewarded where very different.  At this point I decided enough was enough and I needed to take action.  The very first action being to take time for myself and consider my future, so I hired my coach.”

This phase of reflection helped Stephen to see just how inauthentic he too had become, slowly his values and strengths and passion had been eroded and he had to accept that he’d let that happen.  However the coaching also helped him to reconnect to what was really important, both in terms of why he’d originally chosen that profession and also what was important to him now.  This discovery process enabled him to connect not only to his purpose but back to his real self.

Then came the review of his current job and company.  Armed with what he knew about himself and what he wanted for his future he could evaluate his next steps and his relationship with the company.  In Stephen’s case he decided that the company was no longer the right environment for him, realising he’d be asked to compromise again in order to fit in and get on, yet this time he’d be doing it consciously which was even worse.

Interestingly (and weirdly all too common) when he went to resign the organisation came back with a salary increase, He promptly refused, but they said they really valued him and so offered an even bigger financial package.  “At that point I had an insightful discussion with my boss and explained just how much either he or the company didn’t understand me if this was their approach”.

Many talented people we speak with mention that within their career or job it is core that they can express themselves and have a sense of fulfilment.  That success without this is no longer real success.  Of course they have mortgages to pay and people to feed, at least one being themselves.  Yet they very often take the most courageous decision of all, push through the fear and pursue this intrinsic desire for a life and career filled with meaning and purpose.

Stephen moved on to a role and company that played to his strengths, shared his values and their corporate mission was aligned with his purpose.  “I’m invigorated, what I achieve in a day is phenomenal compared to before.  Yes there are tough days and occasionally I still ask myself why I’m doing this, but the difference is now an answer comes back and it gets me going again.”

Many large organizations do take the time to define a corporate mission that underpins their vision of the future.  The short sentences can be used as a guiding compass and a decision making tool for everyone’s actions.  This enables those that are considering joining to decide if it aligns with who they are too.  If these sentences are a shell then the worst that happens is they recruit someone who buy’s the shell and within 6 months finds it’s hollow.  Then it becomes an expensive business as they move on or even more expensive if they decide to stay.   Mission, values, vision and purpose are valuable leverage points for both an organisation – whatever the size and an individual.  When they coincide the payback for all is huge.  As Stephen’s story shows there are some things you just can’t buy.

Employee Presence versus Employee Engagement

Do you remember getting that perfect attendance sticker / pin / badge in infant school?  It was such a big deal, proving that you showed up on time every day for school, rain or shine.

In the workplace, attendance is also important – but it’s not a measure of effectiveness.

Whilst employees can show up every day to work it’s also possible for them to accomplish minimal productive work during that day.  Emails and meetings are two common activities that aren’t necessarily productive.  The difference between productivity and barely sustainable effort takes employee engagement.  The member of staff who’s fully engaged in their work is in agreement or alignment with the corporate goals and mission statement.  This person gets more than a paycheck every month, they also take home a greater sense of personal job satisfaction, perhaps not daily, but much more than once a month.

The UK Work Foundation discovered that the lower the job satisfaction level, the worse the productivity. Well no surprises there.  However when job satisfaction falls below 50%, productivity literally stagnates.  Research in 2002 found that the US and other countries competing with UK industries were 30% more productive than the typical UK worker.  And all the doom, gloom and continual talk of recession is hardly the obvious recipe for increasing happiness.  However that aside it’s possible to ride external factors by creating clear goals that inspire or at the very least motivate the team. 

 

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